VHS-what to do with them?

[sbpebbles]

So yesterday we went through our many selection of movies and we have MANY VHS that we have decided we no longer want, we primarily watch DVD's as I'm sure most families do. Any idea what we should do with these? I'm not sure many ppl still watch them or even have the players for them..Originally I was thinking of putting them online for sale in lots for like $5 for like 10 of them or something...It's a lot of Elmo, Teletubbies, Disney's Spot, and the like..there are also a few brand new unopened adult movies that we never got to..I'm sure we easily have over 100 movies or more..anyone have any ideas? thanks!

ETA: I don't do Ebay, never have gotten into that so I really don't wanna try that..

 

[DisneyHotDog]

i am sure they still have some value. i LIKE MOST although mostly rent dvd still have old vhs tapes and a machine to play them. they can always be converted to digital, with a little picture quality lost.
I predict that one day soon a machine that is inexpensive for at home use will be sold that we can use to convert the vhs to digital at home.
I already see at stores a record player that plays old records and can convert the music to digital so maybe a little more patience is neccessary.
good luck!

 

[snowy76]

A few years ago we bought a combination VCR/DVD recorder which allowed us to transfer our VHS to DVD-Rs. You really can't do chapters or anything but they basically created VCDs for us.

As for the actual tapes, we ended up donating them to the library. Our library will either put them into circulation or sell them at their annual used book sales, and we get tax write-off.

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

I have donated tons of VHS to our local library (check to see first if they accept them). I have also donated them to Salvation Army, Purple Hearts, etc. I have also heard of folks donating them to childrens hospitals.

If you were motivated to do so, you could also try to sell them in groups (kids animated, family, etc) really cheap on ebay. I'm one of those nuts that actually prefer VHS to DVD, yep, my kids think I'm crazy.

 

[diamondpixienc]

I agree w/ the previous post. We first transfered the ones we wanted to keep onto DVD w/ the VHS to DVD gadget we snagged from HSN about 2 years ago. BTW there is a much better and way cooler 2010 version available via HSN. Anywho, we then donated the adult ones to the local library and the kiddie ones to our kids former preschool/ church day care.

 

[sbpebbles]

I have donated tons of VHS to our local library (check to see first if they accept them). I have also donated them to Salvation Army, Purple Hearts, etc. I have also heard of folks donating them to childrens hospitals.

If you were motivated to do so, you could also try to sell them in groups (kids animated, family, etc) really cheap on ebay. I'm one of those nuts that actually prefer VHS to DVD, yep, my kids think I'm crazy.

yea i forgot to add in my original post that I've never done Ebay so that's out of the question..a lot of them don't have cases so i am not sure how to go about selling them..

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

yea i forgot to add in my original post that I've never done Ebay so that's out of the question..a lot of them don't have cases so i am not sure how to go about selling them..

You know after I suggested selling them on ebay, I realized it probably isn't worth it for anyone to go through the time and trouble of selling them there.

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

I agree w/ the previous post. We first transfered the ones we wanted to keep onto DVD w/ the VHS to DVD gadget we snagged from HSN about 2 years ago. BTW there is a much better and way cooler 2010 version available via HSN. Anywho, we then donated the adult ones to the local library and the kiddie ones to our kids former preschool/ church day care.

Wow, thanks for this info. I had NO IDEA there was such a gadget! Will check into this.

 

[hffmnheidi]

Daycare centers would gladly take the child friendly movies. There's usually never any money left over to buy 'new' movies and kids love to watch something that is 'new' to them.

 

[sam_gordon]

Daycare centers would gladly take the child friendly movies. There's usually never any money left over to buy 'new' movies and kids love to watch something that is 'new' to them.

This is exactly what I was going to suggest.

 

[sbpebbles]

I agree w/ the previous post. We first transfered the ones we wanted to keep onto DVD w/ the VHS to DVD gadget we snagged from HSN about 2 years ago. BTW there is a much better and way cooler 2010 version available via HSN. Anywho, we then donated the adult ones to the local library and the kiddie ones to our kids former preschool/ church day care.

could you point me in the direction of that item from HSN? I tried to look on their site and could not find it..and roughly the price range? might be something to get as a late christmas present..thanks

 

[stich1fan]

I would second the children's hospital or library. I have done this and as a parent of child with special needs it is great when you go to the hospital to see a doctor and they have a movie for the little one to watch during the exam.

I actually had to buy vhs tapes of her favorite to bring. Lots of yard sales and flea markets to shop, since they don;t really sell vhs anymore and lots of hospitals don't have dvd players yet.

 

[sjs314]

could you point me in the direction of that item from HSN? I tried to look on their site and could not find it..and roughly the price range? might be something to get as a late christmas present..thanks

here is the link, I just ordered one last night


http://electronics.hsn.com/magnavox-dvd-vhs-combo-recorder-bundle_p-6188875_xp.aspx?web_id=6188875&sourcemailid=EMORDERWEB201012&cm_mmc=Email*Transactional*EMORDERWEB201012*purchaseditem

 

[sbpebbles]

here is the link, I just ordered one last night


http://electronics.hsn.com/magnavox...*Transactional*EMORDERWEB201012*purchaseditem

thanks..does anyone know how legal it is to convert them? i know you can't copy them so i wonder if this is along those same lines..

 

[firstcruise]

If you can't sell or donate then recycle the rest. We just recycled a bunch of old VHS tapes instead of sending them to the dump. Helped saved the landfill and environment and gave a new life to old plastic.

 

[CleoPahd]

We purchased a VHS to DVD converter a few years back initially to transfer our home videos to DVD to better preserve them. As time has gone on we thought it would be good to convert our disney video collection as well as a few other favorites before the tapes wear out. Other non disney movies converted fine, unfortunately the converter recognizes that the Disney movies are copyright protected and will not allow for it. We know we are never going to purchase another vcr again once ours dies(and we almost NEVER use it), so it's disappointing to know we own all of these videos that we can't do anything with. I can tell you that I did call our local Salvation Army store about donating a bunch of other childrens videos and they were extremely happy to receive them. They say that they are in high demand at the store.

 

[fakereadhed]

We are probably the last to give up our Vhs! We have all the Disney vault movies(we have an 18yo) and my 6 yo can easily work the VCR. We have a DVD combo player, but the DVD doesn't work due to a PB&J accident, but can't give up the VCR!

Honestly though I have given up on buying DVDs. With Netflix and other steaming options soon people are going to be asking what to do with DVDs.

 

[Jenn4615]

I haven't read the other posts so i don't know if this has been mentioned. My son just got out of the hospital yesterday and they have TONS of VHS tapes... all donated...and they were a GODSEND... it kept my two year old VERY entertained. All the rooms had dvd/vhs combo units... we did not watch one dvd...we watched all VHS movies.. sadly it took abit of remembering on how those things work.. Sad! how quickly we forget! But I am grateful to each and every person that donated their old VHS tapes to the hospital!

 

[sbpebbles]

I haven't read the other posts so i don't know if this has been mentioned. My son just got out of the hospital yesterday and they have TONS of VHS tapes... all donated...and they were a GODSEND... it kept my two year old VERY entertained. All the rooms had dvd/vhs combo units... we did not watch one dvd...we watched all VHS movies.. sadly it took abit of remembering on how those things work.. Sad! how quickly we forget! But I am grateful to each and every person that donated their old VHS tapes to the hospital!

I think I will give the local hospitals a call and see if they are interested in them..Although we have a fairly new hospital so i dunno but still can't hurt to ask..thanks everyone!

 

[buzz5985]

Do you have any woman shelters, or, for a better term - transitional homes for children, etc. in your area. I know my Aunt ran a home for kids in between foster homes, or just coming into the system - a home that the kids were only there a couple of days at most. They need games, movies, toys, etc.